10/30/2014

Something Wicked Strikes Day #30!Only one more day to celebrate all things Wicked. If you think this event is going out lightly, you are wrong. But before I get to today's post please go say hello to Ginny:

I am bringing in a heavy weight today.... How about Seventh Grave and No Body by Darynda Jones!That's right, I have a giveaway for the latest, smash hit by award winning author Darynda Jones. Have you read the Charley Davidson Series yet? No? Yes? If you have then you know how spectacular and funny this series is. I have been an avid fan since I read the first book back in 2011 see my review here. In fact, First Grave on the Right was the first book I reviewed on this blog! For those of you who haven't read the series, it is time to get with the program and start the series today! I am excited to share with you an excerpt from the Seventh Grave and No Body today, but first let's meet Darynda Jones, one of my favorite authors!

NYTimes and USA Today Bestselling Author Darynda Jones has won numerous awards for her work, including a prestigious Golden Heart®, a Rebecca, two Hold Medallions, a RITA ®, and a Daphne du Maurier, and she has received stellar reviews from dozens of publications including starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist, and the Library Journal. As a born storyteller, Darynda grew up spinning tales of dashing damsels and heroes in distress for any unfortunate soul who happened by, annoying man and beast alike, and she is ever so grateful for the opportunity to carry on that tradition. She currently has two series with St. Martin’s Press: The Charley Davidson Series and the Darklight Trilogy. She lives in the Land of Enchantment, also known as New Mexico, with her husband of almost 30 years and two beautiful sons, the Mighty, Mighty Jones Boys. She can be found on her website, Facebook, Twitter,Goodreads, Pinterest and The Ruby Slippered Sisterhood.

Here is an excerpt from Seventh Grave and No Body by Darynda Jones

I stepped inside the lobby and continued down a darkened corridor.

“Rocket?” I said, my voice soft as I trampled through dirt and debris left by partiers. Much of the surface had been tagged, but Rocket’s etchings made them look rather beautiful, like crumbling pieces of ancient abstract art.

The last time I saw the Rocket Man, he’d been scratching my name into one of the walls. He wrote only the names of those who had died or were about to die, so seeing my name up in scratches was sobering. But that was before I knew about the bun. This was a whole new game, and I was not about to die anytime soon. My daughter had to be born. Her birth was prophesied according to some guy way back when, before the invention of sliced bread. Rocket was wrong, however— and this wouldn’t be the first time. Well, okay, technically he hadn’t been wrong yet. He’d prophesied Reyes’s death, and Reyes did die for a few seconds before I brought him back to life with a kiss— according to my affianced, anyway.

So I had to believe that Rocket’s record was yet untainted, but was about to be. If there’s one thing I’d learned as a supernatural being thus far, it’s that there’s always a loophole. No way was I going to die now. I would lie, cheat and steal to make sure nothing happened to the bun. And I needed info to assure my survival.

Sadly, Rocket wasn’t the easiest being to get information out of, but he was going to give me a few more details if I had to strangle them out of him. First, however, I needed to know about the suicide victims. I could keep his attention for only so long. If I had to choose between me and the suicide victims, I’d have to choose the latter. They could’ve been abducted. They could still be alive and suffering. Their safety had to come first in this situation. Then maybe I could convince Rocket to tell me something about my own demise. Demises in general sucked. My own would probably suck even worse from my point of view. It was hard to tell at this juncture.

Want to know more? Read the book...... Now for the best part, the giveaway! I am thrilled to be able to offer a chance to win a copy of Seventh Grave and No Body by Darynda Jones. To Enter the giveaway fill out the Rafflecopter after reading Contest Policies This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. Good Luck! A huge thanks to Dana and Darynda for allowing me to be on the tour and for offering a copy of Seventh Grave and No Body.

Twelve. Twelve of the deadliest beasts ever forged in the fires of hell have escaped onto our plane, and they want nothing more than to rip out the jugular of Charley Davidson and serve her lifeless, mangled body to Satan for dinner. So there's that. But Charley has more on her plate than a mob of testy hellhounds. For one thing, her father has disappeared, and the more she retraces his last steps, the more she learns he was conducting an investigation of his own, one that has Charley questioning everything she's ever known about him. Add to that an ex-BFF who is haunting her night and day, a rash of suicides that has authorities baffled, and a drop-dead sexy fiancé who has attracted the attentions of a local celebrity, and Charley is not having the best week of her life.

But all of that combined barely scratches the surface of her problems. Recent developments - and a few distressing prophesies - have forced her to become a responsible adult. Exactly the kind of adult she's never aspired to be. To conquer such a monumental task, she's decided to start small. Really small. She gets a pet. But how can she save the world against the forces of evil when she can't even keep a goldfish alive? A tad north of hell, a hop, skip, and a jump past the realm of eternity, is a little place called Earth, and Charley Davidson, grim reaper extraordinaire, is determined to do everything in her power to protect it. We're doomed.Audible Audio, UnabridgedPublished October 21st 2014 by Macmillan AudioSource: Purchased

Four and a half stars: Another hilarious installment.

Charley is trying to avoid the twelve hell hounds, but that is proving more difficult than she anticipated because that means she must take Reyes everywhere. Aside from the hellhounds and Reyes constantly shadowing her, Charley has plenty of other things to worry about, like finding her dad, getting rid of her former BFF who continues to haunt her, uncover why there are several graves in the cemetery with no bodies, and help track down a killer. Just another day in the life of Charley Davdison, private investigator and the grim reaper.....

What I Liked:

Picking up another Charley Davdison book is like eating your favorite comfort food. You know you can sit back, relax and snicker your way through another adventure. Reviewing the seventh book, there isn't much I can say about the characters and the antics that I haven't said before other than this series continues to entertain and make me laugh. What more could you ask for?

Seventh Grave is a bit of a departure from the previous books. This time around, the story focuses mainly on the overall story arc as Charley learns more about her powers, her destiny and she continues to grow. The investigations and encounters with the dead take a back seat in this one. While I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't a stronger mystery for Charley to solve, I did enjoy seeing more of the big picture unfold because I have been waiting six books to understand more about Charley's grim reaper abilities.

The full cast of secondary characters is back to enhance the story. I love this terrific cast of characters. Never a dull moment. I am liking that members of the secondary cast are turning up with their own special abilities, and that they all seem to have important roles to play down the road in the final battle between good and evil.

One of my niggles with Charley is that she is always getting her butt handed to her. Thankfully in this installment, she learns to wield her powers and she manages to take down some serious attackers. I am relieved to finally see her kick butt and take names.

The romance continues to get better and better. Even though Charley and Reyes still have their quibbles, their chemistry is sizzling and I like the way they work together. I am also happy that the secondary romance that I have been waiting several books for is in full swing and looking good.

The humor and snark continues to shine. You can't pick up one of these books and not giggle as you read. My favorite parts are still the funny quotes and snippets at the beginning of every chapter. I need to own some of those quoted T shirts.

The ending was a bit easier to live with compared to the last two books. This one has a bit of a cliffhanger, but not a jaw dropper like in books five and six. I can live with it.

Once again, Lorelei King narrates the audiobook version of Seventh Grave. Ms. King is one of my all time favorite narrators, and I love her rendition of Charley. Her narration is spot on and I throughly enjoy listening to her work. I highly recommend the audiobooks of this series. They are fantastic.

And The Not So Much:

The problem with this book for me was that it lacked a bit of focus. While I appreciated that it spent most of the time focusing on the bigger picture, I felt like there was several story lines introduced and left dangling. For instance in the beginning, Charley and Reyes are helping Special Agent Carson investigate a missing persons case. Charley uncovers an area where several little girls were murdered and dumped. She learns the perpetrator and sets the police after him, and then there are a couple of small mentions down the line and nothing. Also there is the whole thing with Charley's missing father, he is brought up a couple of times, but it isn't of importance until the end. What was up with all the missing bodies in the graveyard? I learned many answers regarding Charley and her abilities, but I was confused at all the new story lines that were introduced and left hanging. Plus I still need to know more about Mr. Wong.

While I adore Charley's humor, I think the whole naming everything is getting old, not to mention it is confusing. When she mentions a name, Zeus, I was thinking Zeus was a new character only to find out it is something else she has named.

While I liked that Charley was able to use her powers when facing the hell hounds, I didn't like that once again, there were times when confronted by a seemingly normal human she was incapacitated. It doesn't make sense.

Seventh Grave and No Body is pivotal book in the series. It takes the story direction into new unchartered territory while setting the stage for the bigger picture. The romance also cements itself firmly in place once and for all. The series with its snarky humor and entertaining characters continues to be a favorite. The Charley Davidson books are the perfect books to pick up when you are in need of some comfort reading.

I purchased an audiobook copy of this book. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated for this review.

I love this series! If at all possible, I would recommend the audio versions. Lorelei King does an absolutely phenomenal job narrating the books. In fact, I have a sample of the audiobook for you all today:

One more thing... as part of the tour, my blog is entered for a chance to win a great giveaway. If you would be so kind to take a minute and vote for me, I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks!

Comments

Something Wicked Strikes Day #30!Only one more day to celebrate all things Wicked. If you think this event is going out lightly, you are wrong. But before I get to today's post please go say hello to Ginny:

I am bringing in a heavy weight today.... How about Seventh Grave and No Body by Darynda Jones!That's right, I have a giveaway for the latest, smash hit by award winning author Darynda Jones. Have you read the Charley Davidson Series yet? No? Yes? If you have then you know how spectacular and funny this series is. I have been an avid fan since I read the first book back in 2011 see my review here. In fact, First Grave on the Right was the first book I reviewed on this blog! For those of you who haven't read the series, it is time to get with the program and start the series today! I am excited to share with you an excerpt from the Seventh Grave and No Body today, but first let's meet Darynda Jones, one of my favorite authors!

NYTimes and USA Today Bestselling Author Darynda Jones has won numerous awards for her work, including a prestigious Golden Heart®, a Rebecca, two Hold Medallions, a RITA ®, and a Daphne du Maurier, and she has received stellar reviews from dozens of publications including starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist, and the Library Journal. As a born storyteller, Darynda grew up spinning tales of dashing damsels and heroes in distress for any unfortunate soul who happened by, annoying man and beast alike, and she is ever so grateful for the opportunity to carry on that tradition. She currently has two series with St. Martin’s Press: The Charley Davidson Series and the Darklight Trilogy. She lives in the Land of Enchantment, also known as New Mexico, with her husband of almost 30 years and two beautiful sons, the Mighty, Mighty Jones Boys. She can be found on her website, Facebook, Twitter,Goodreads, Pinterest and The Ruby Slippered Sisterhood.

Here is an excerpt from Seventh Grave and No Body by Darynda Jones

I stepped inside the lobby and continued down a darkened corridor.

“Rocket?” I said, my voice soft as I trampled through dirt and debris left by partiers. Much of the surface had been tagged, but Rocket’s etchings made them look rather beautiful, like crumbling pieces of ancient abstract art.

The last time I saw the Rocket Man, he’d been scratching my name into one of the walls. He wrote only the names of those who had died or were about to die, so seeing my name up in scratches was sobering. But that was before I knew about the bun. This was a whole new game, and I was not about to die anytime soon. My daughter had to be born. Her birth was prophesied according to some guy way back when, before the invention of sliced bread. Rocket was wrong, however— and this wouldn’t be the first time. Well, okay, technically he hadn’t been wrong yet. He’d prophesied Reyes’s death, and Reyes did die for a few seconds before I brought him back to life with a kiss— according to my affianced, anyway.

So I had to believe that Rocket’s record was yet untainted, but was about to be. If there’s one thing I’d learned as a supernatural being thus far, it’s that there’s always a loophole. No way was I going to die now. I would lie, cheat and steal to make sure nothing happened to the bun. And I needed info to assure my survival.

Sadly, Rocket wasn’t the easiest being to get information out of, but he was going to give me a few more details if I had to strangle them out of him. First, however, I needed to know about the suicide victims. I could keep his attention for only so long. If I had to choose between me and the suicide victims, I’d have to choose the latter. They could’ve been abducted. They could still be alive and suffering. Their safety had to come first in this situation. Then maybe I could convince Rocket to tell me something about my own demise. Demises in general sucked. My own would probably suck even worse from my point of view. It was hard to tell at this juncture.

Want to know more? Read the book...... Now for the best part, the giveaway! I am thrilled to be able to offer a chance to win a copy of Seventh Grave and No Body by Darynda Jones. To Enter the giveaway fill out the Rafflecopter after reading Contest Policies This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. Good Luck! A huge thanks to Dana and Darynda for allowing me to be on the tour and for offering a copy of Seventh Grave and No Body.

Twelve. Twelve of the deadliest beasts ever forged in the fires of hell have escaped onto our plane, and they want nothing more than to rip out the jugular of Charley Davidson and serve her lifeless, mangled body to Satan for dinner. So there's that. But Charley has more on her plate than a mob of testy hellhounds. For one thing, her father has disappeared, and the more she retraces his last steps, the more she learns he was conducting an investigation of his own, one that has Charley questioning everything she's ever known about him. Add to that an ex-BFF who is haunting her night and day, a rash of suicides that has authorities baffled, and a drop-dead sexy fiancé who has attracted the attentions of a local celebrity, and Charley is not having the best week of her life.

But all of that combined barely scratches the surface of her problems. Recent developments - and a few distressing prophesies - have forced her to become a responsible adult. Exactly the kind of adult she's never aspired to be. To conquer such a monumental task, she's decided to start small. Really small. She gets a pet. But how can she save the world against the forces of evil when she can't even keep a goldfish alive? A tad north of hell, a hop, skip, and a jump past the realm of eternity, is a little place called Earth, and Charley Davidson, grim reaper extraordinaire, is determined to do everything in her power to protect it. We're doomed.Audible Audio, UnabridgedPublished October 21st 2014 by Macmillan AudioSource: Purchased

Four and a half stars: Another hilarious installment.

Charley is trying to avoid the twelve hell hounds, but that is proving more difficult than she anticipated because that means she must take Reyes everywhere. Aside from the hellhounds and Reyes constantly shadowing her, Charley has plenty of other things to worry about, like finding her dad, getting rid of her former BFF who continues to haunt her, uncover why there are several graves in the cemetery with no bodies, and help track down a killer. Just another day in the life of Charley Davdison, private investigator and the grim reaper.....

What I Liked:

Picking up another Charley Davdison book is like eating your favorite comfort food. You know you can sit back, relax and snicker your way through another adventure. Reviewing the seventh book, there isn't much I can say about the characters and the antics that I haven't said before other than this series continues to entertain and make me laugh. What more could you ask for?

Seventh Grave is a bit of a departure from the previous books. This time around, the story focuses mainly on the overall story arc as Charley learns more about her powers, her destiny and she continues to grow. The investigations and encounters with the dead take a back seat in this one. While I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't a stronger mystery for Charley to solve, I did enjoy seeing more of the big picture unfold because I have been waiting six books to understand more about Charley's grim reaper abilities.

The full cast of secondary characters is back to enhance the story. I love this terrific cast of characters. Never a dull moment. I am liking that members of the secondary cast are turning up with their own special abilities, and that they all seem to have important roles to play down the road in the final battle between good and evil.

One of my niggles with Charley is that she is always getting her butt handed to her. Thankfully in this installment, she learns to wield her powers and she manages to take down some serious attackers. I am relieved to finally see her kick butt and take names.

The romance continues to get better and better. Even though Charley and Reyes still have their quibbles, their chemistry is sizzling and I like the way they work together. I am also happy that the secondary romance that I have been waiting several books for is in full swing and looking good.

The humor and snark continues to shine. You can't pick up one of these books and not giggle as you read. My favorite parts are still the funny quotes and snippets at the beginning of every chapter. I need to own some of those quoted T shirts.

The ending was a bit easier to live with compared to the last two books. This one has a bit of a cliffhanger, but not a jaw dropper like in books five and six. I can live with it.

Once again, Lorelei King narrates the audiobook version of Seventh Grave. Ms. King is one of my all time favorite narrators, and I love her rendition of Charley. Her narration is spot on and I throughly enjoy listening to her work. I highly recommend the audiobooks of this series. They are fantastic.

And The Not So Much:

The problem with this book for me was that it lacked a bit of focus. While I appreciated that it spent most of the time focusing on the bigger picture, I felt like there was several story lines introduced and left dangling. For instance in the beginning, Charley and Reyes are helping Special Agent Carson investigate a missing persons case. Charley uncovers an area where several little girls were murdered and dumped. She learns the perpetrator and sets the police after him, and then there are a couple of small mentions down the line and nothing. Also there is the whole thing with Charley's missing father, he is brought up a couple of times, but it isn't of importance until the end. What was up with all the missing bodies in the graveyard? I learned many answers regarding Charley and her abilities, but I was confused at all the new story lines that were introduced and left hanging. Plus I still need to know more about Mr. Wong.

While I adore Charley's humor, I think the whole naming everything is getting old, not to mention it is confusing. When she mentions a name, Zeus, I was thinking Zeus was a new character only to find out it is something else she has named.

While I liked that Charley was able to use her powers when facing the hell hounds, I didn't like that once again, there were times when confronted by a seemingly normal human she was incapacitated. It doesn't make sense.

Seventh Grave and No Body is pivotal book in the series. It takes the story direction into new unchartered territory while setting the stage for the bigger picture. The romance also cements itself firmly in place once and for all. The series with its snarky humor and entertaining characters continues to be a favorite. The Charley Davidson books are the perfect books to pick up when you are in need of some comfort reading.

I purchased an audiobook copy of this book. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated for this review.

I love this series! If at all possible, I would recommend the audio versions. Lorelei King does an absolutely phenomenal job narrating the books. In fact, I have a sample of the audiobook for you all today:

One more thing... as part of the tour, my blog is entered for a chance to win a great giveaway. If you would be so kind to take a minute and vote for me, I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks!